Premier Health Web Privacy Policy

Premier Health (Premier) is committed to protecting your online privacy. We feel it is important for you to know how we handle the information we receive from you via the Internet. For the content and services that would require you to enter personal information, like treatment plans or customized content for “MyChart”, we will use and disclose the information you provide as stated in our Website Privacy Statement. In addition, if you provide health information that identifies who you are (for example, your name or Social Security number) we will only use and disclose this information as stated in the Notice of Privacy Practices of the specific Premier entity that you are visiting. The Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) for your Premier choice can be selected by visiting the Premier affiliated site and selecting the NPP link.

Website Privacy Statement

Premier will not use or disclose your personal health information for any purpose unless you have signed a form authorizing the use or disclosure. You have the right to revoke that authorization in writing unless we have taken any action in reliance on the authorization. We will make uses and disclosures of your personal health information that you provide about your symptoms as necessary for planning a course of treatment and to enable your continuity of care. We will make uses and disclosures of your personal health information that you provide for payment purposes for treatment that you receive, and for our own internal ongoing quality improvement initiatives to improve clinical treatment and care that we provide our patients. Our use and disclosure of an individual's personal information (including health information) is limited as required by state and federal law. We do not sell or rent personal information about visitors to this site or customers who use the site.

To ensure the privacy of your information, we have established security measures on this website to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control. Such measures include encryption of data using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) system, and using a secured messaging service when we send you personal information electronically. Despite the measures that we may put in place, the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to or from us via this site by Internet or e-mail cannot be guaranteed. At your discretion, you may contact us by selecting the “Contact us” link at the top of any page or by writing to us at the mailing address listed in the "Contacts" section at the end of this Privacy Statement.

Premier websites may contain links to websites operated by third parties. Premier has no control over the privacy policies and practices of such third-party sites, and if you have any concerns, you are urged to review the terms of those sites for more information about their policies.

Revisions to the Privacy Statement

Premier may amend this Privacy Statement from time to time as new technology presents itself or changes in law require us to change our services. We will post notice of any material revisions to this Web Privacy Statement here on our website. Any revised Privacy Statement will apply both to information we already have about you at the time of the change, and any personal information created or received after the change takes effect. This Privacy Statement will contain a date of revision that it was last revised.

Website Visitor Data

We routinely gather data on website activity. This data includes the number of visitors to our site, the pages they visit, data on where they come from, and duration of their site visit. This visitor data is collected on an aggregate, anonymous basis, which means that no personally identifiable information is associated with the data. This data is gathered to help us improve site content and overall usage of the site. The information is not shared with other organizations for their independent use.

Collecting and Using Personal Information

Except as disclosed in this Privacy Statement, we do not collect any identifiable information about visitors to this site or our customers who use this site. The policies, sources, and uses of information are outlined in the sections that follow.

IP Addresses and Cookies

We collect and log the IP address of all visitors to Premier affiliated websites. An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you get on the Internet. We may also collect the type of Internet browser you use to access the Internet, operating system, and date and time you visited our sites. Your computer’s IP address allows your computer to recognize and communicate with another computer or server. Your IP address information is collected so that we can administer our system and gather aggregate information about how our site is being used, including the pages visitors are viewing. This aggregate information may be shared with advertisers, sponsors, and other businesses. To maintain your anonymity, we do not associate IP addresses with records containing personal information. We will use IP address information, however, to personally identify you in order to enforce our legal rights or when required to do so by law enforcement authorities.

"Cookies" are small pieces of information that some websites store on your computer's hard drive when you visit them. Like many other websites, PHP uses cookies to provide us with information relating to the sources of our site traffic. Collecting this information, however, does not allow us to personally identify you.

We may place Internet "cookies" on the computer hard drives of visitors to any of the Premier websites. Information we obtain from cookies helps us to tailor our site to be more helpful and efficient for our visitors. The cookie consists of a unique identifier that does not contain information about you or your health history. We use cookies to help customize your experience on our site, maintain your signed-on status as you navigate through our features, and to track your "click path" through our Web pages. We may use cookies when you give us permission to "remember" a feature about you when asked by the websites. We place a cookie on your hard drive so that the next time you visit us, we won't have to ask you that information again. If you've given us permission to e-mail you with information or for other reasons, we may place a cookie on your hard drive that will let us know when you come back to visit our site.

You may have software on your computer that will allow you to decline or deactivate Internet cookies, but if you do so, some features of this site may not work properly for you. For instructions on how to remove cookies from your hard drive, go to your browser's website for detailed instructions.

All the web activity we collect is stored securely, and may only be accessed by Premier or designees on a need-to-know basis for a specific purpose. Premier uses web-collected information to help us design our site, to identify popular features, to resolve user, hardware, and software problems, and to make the site more useful to visitors.

Surveys and Inquiries

Premier will periodically ask you to complete surveys asking about your experiences with features of the website. Our surveys may ask you for demographic information such as age, gender, and education, but will not request that you provide specific information about any medical condition. We use information from surveys to better understand the needs of our visitors and for quality improvement purposes, as well as track health care trends and issues. We may share survey information with third parties whom perform data management services for our site. We may share information from surveys in an aggregated, de-identified form to make it anonymous with third parties with whom we have a business relationship.

For any comments or questions that you send to us, we may share information with internal customer service representatives, employees, or medical experts that can best address your concerns or questions. We will archive your messages once we have made our best effort to provide you with a complete and satisfactory response.

Messages and Transactions

Comments or questions sent to us using e-mail or secure messaging forms will be shared with Premier staff and health care professionals who are most able to address your concerns. We will archive your messages once we have made our best effort to provide you with a complete and satisfactory response.

Some of our services, such as our automated appointment selection and prescription refill services, interact directly with other Premier data systems. Data about your transaction may be stored in these systems, and available to people who test and support these systems.

When you use a service on the secure section of this website to interact directly with Premier health care professionals, some information you provide may be documented in your medical record, and available for use to guide your treatment as a patient.

Advertising

Premierhealth.com may display ads promoting partnerships, programs and services of Premier Health and its’ affiliates. However, Premier Health does not accept, nor solicit advertisements from third parties on our website(s).

Website Funding

The funding of http://www.premierhealth.com solely comes from the operating budget of the Premier Health Marketing and Communications Department as a line item marketing expense.

Disclosures

We may disclose personal information to any person, agency or entity performing audit, legal, operational, or other services for us. We will use information, that does not identify the individual, for these activities whenever feasible. Information disclosed to vendors or contractors for operational purposes may not be re-disclosed to others by the vendor or contractor. We may disclose personal information when required to do so by a subpoena, court order, or search warrant. We may disclose personal information as appropriate to protect the safety of an individual, or for an investigation related to public safety, or to report an activity that appears to be in violation of law. We may disclose personal information to protect the security and reliability of this site and to take precautions against liability. We may also use personal information as otherwise required or permitted by federal law and the laws of the State of Ohio.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, our policies and practices concerning this site, your rights under this statement, and your dealings with the Premier websites, you may e-mail us by selecting the “Contact us” link at the left of any page. Our Marketing and Communications department will forward your comments to the appropriate Premier department for response or resolution. If you don’t receive an adequate resolution to any privacy-related problem, you may write the Premier Health Privacy Officer at the following U.S. mail address below: